Picnics were the scene of water fights between fire departments in which each team, using pumper trucks and fire hoses, tried to force a beer keg to the opponent’s end of an overhead cable.

Firemen held their meetings on the 14^th of each month; officers were elected to three-year terms. Trucks were stored in Fritz’s garage over winter. A piano was bought for the fire hall. The siren button, at times located outside the tavern and store, was moved to Art Fritz’s garage. It was blown four times for a small fire and twelve times for a large one.

In 1955, the department bought three acres of land in Section 17 at the southwest intersection of County Highways A and S (Vol. 361 pg 218-221) for use as a baseball diamond. This action demonstrated the unique role of the volunteer fire department. No other agency provides such community-wide service and, as a practical matter, the same persons would have been involved, so the department voted to lend the baseball team $900 interest free.

The department bought a new portable pump. Day-duty firemen trained to operate it were Ellis Krahn and Ralph Hintz. Night duty firemen were Ray Matthies and Lynes Fellenz.

Meeting minutes in 1955 stated that any fire department member becoming the father of a baby boy must furnish a 1/8-barrel of beer to the department. The custom was expanded to include the fathers of daughters, and eventually it was dropped.

In 1956, the department received $500 from the Town of Scott. Meetings were held on the first Thursday of the month. In 1957, new smoke masks were bought, a new system for dialing fire calls was introduced, and the town was asked to increase it’s payment to $1000.

The 1960’s

On March 16, 1969, after much discussion and deliberation, the department bought the former Sauter garage and used it for a firehouse. It is located on one acre of land at the Southeast intersection of County Highways A and S, in Section 16. The department bought a 1955 Chevrolet truck with a 1600-gallon tank. They also bought a used utility truck from the Kewaskum Fire Department.

The 1970’s

The department received $3500 from the Town of Scott. In 1972, the siren button was placed in the Beechwood Rest Home. The nursing station provided the link in communication as well as testing the siren each noon. Radio pagers now alert firemen, and the siren is also used as a tornado alert. Final payment was also made on the new fire truck.

In 1973, the Senior Citizen organization was given free use of the fire hall. The hall was also rented for other community events and private parties. If an auxiliary were to be organized, it could also use the hall.

Octoberfest, complete with a greased-pig contest and spanferkel, was held as a fundraiser. In 1974, a tile floor was installed in the hall, and a new sign with 15-inch letters was put on the firehouse. In 1975, walkie-talkies were being considered. The Auxiliary had been organized by Virginia Benzschawel and Marjorie Krahn and had provided drapes, kitchen equipment, a floor scrubber, and eave-troughs for the hall.

In 1976, Octoberfest was voted down. The June picnic games were turned over to the Auxiliary. The March 4th, 1976 meeting was cancelled due to an ice storm. The severity of that storm left much of the community without electric power for days until lines could be restored. The fire department, using the Beechwood Rest Home’s electric generator, provided a warm community center in the fire hall. Heat, water, and donated food prepared by the Auxiliary were made available. Letters of commendation from the Town of Scott Board and General Telephone Company praised the department for this extraordinary community service.

In 1977, even while firemen were occupied with repair and maintenance of buildings and equipment, they also trained in Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).

In 1978, a committee composed of Frank Poos, Roger Vetter, Rick Vetter, Howard Matthias, Bob Hartmann, and LeRoy Muench recommended a $10,000 purchase of radios and pagers. That was the beginning of a rapid communication system without dependencies on someone to sound the siren button.

The 1980’s

Major purchases were: ten sets of turnout gear (the coat, helmet, and boots worn by responding fireman) at $2150, a safe, and a camera. A new furnace and insulation were added to the firehouse. Eighteen firemen completed the CPR course (Frank Poos was the department training officer). Mod I class, a basic firefighting class, was completed in April 1982. Mod II classes began in March 1983.

In June of 1986, the department asked the Town of Scott to underwrite a loan for the construction of a new firehouse, which was approved. An 84’ x 48’ Walters steel building was erected on the east side of Fireman’s Park at a cost of $75,000. The building had five bays and was 2400 square feet larger than the previous firehouse, which was sold to the Beechwood Rest Home.

In November of 1989, it was decided to start a committee to research the cost of adding an addition on to the new station to be used for a meeting room and also to add a kitchen area for meals. The information was gathered and at the membership meeting in March of 1990, it was approved to build on to the station. A 30’x 48’ addition was to be added on to the east end of the station for use as a meeting room.

On May 28, 1990 construction began with the digging of the foundation and footings. K&D Excavating of Beechwood did the digging. When the footings were dug, Dennis Janz construction began the concrete work and block work. The membership, in a bid to save some money, removed the steel from the end of the building for the addition to be added to. The steel was all saved and reused for the end wall of the new addition. The framework, trusses, windows, stonework, and outside trim was also done by Janz Construction.

Once the structure was completed, the membership sprang into action. Being an all-volunteer organization, we were fortunate enough to have carpenters, electricians, masons, insulation people, and drywallers as members of the department. Except for the laying of the tile floor, which was done by Beder Carpet, the entire inside of the structure was completely finished out by the membership of the Beechwood Fire Department. Once built, our Ladies Auxiliary went to work with the details of decorating. Paint colors were picked out, drapes were hung, and cabinet stains were chosen. The new addition was dedicated on May 19, 1991 with an open house and ceremony.

This structure served us well for many years, but like most organizations, growing pains were setting in. We were in desperate need of more storage area, we added another engine to the fleet and also began a cooperative effort with our sister station in our township for First Responders and EMS. We now shared a vehicle which is housed at our station parts of the month and at theirs other parts of the month serving this township.

In January of 2000, a new committee was formed to again research a new addition. This addition would include two more truck bays, with framing and header installed for a third if ever needed, a large storage room with an upstairs mezzanine for additional storage, a new and much larger office, and an area to move our two antique pieces of apparatus to the main station for better care and maintenance. This addition would be added to the west end of the main station and provide us room for future growth. At the April meeting it was unanimously approved to add a 48’x 42’ addition to the building.

On June 10^th, 2000, ground was broke for yet another addition. The main structure was built by Walters Construction, with the mason work done by Dennis Janz Construction. Once again the membership pitched in and built the storage room, the upper mezzanine, the new office and did all the finish work for the office. With this addition we believed we would no longer have a need to expand or to build anymore. We felt we were as big as we needed to be and were set well into the future.

In 2001 we had the opportunity to acquire a natural gas powered 15 KW back up generator for our station. Our membership agreed that this would be very beneficial to our community and would allow us to be used as an emergency shelter for natural disasters, power outages and also as an evacuation sight for the retirement home located two blocks from the station in the event of a fire or other disaster. We built a generator building to the south of our main station and had the generator installed to provide backup power in the event of an emergency. This building was done mostly by donations from the community and the sweat of the members of the Beechwood Fire Department. This generator in still in use today and continues to perform flawlessly.

As we look to the future, there are no immediate plans for any major additions in terms of facilities or apparatus. We continually maintain our current equipment and update our training to provide the best fire protection possible. Our commitment to the community will continue to be a driving force in all that we do.